Baking

The most delectable cinnamon rolls Karen Cabral of San Antonio ever tasted are those at the Pecan St. Bakery & Cafe in Blanco, Texas.

These individual soft-centered cakes are baked and served in ovenproof mugs. (As an alternative, eight-ounce ramekins or soufflé dishes can be used.)

Tuscan sweets tend to be simple and rustic, like this deliciously buttery, moist cake, similar in texture to marzipan. What to drink: Tuscany's famous Vin Santo, a dessert wine made from raisined grapes.

These layered biscuits require a little more effort than the conventional kind, but they're worth it. The recipe calls for White Lily all-purpose flour, which is made from an extra finely ground softer wheat than regular all-purpose flour and results in a lovely, tender texture. Active time: 40 minutes Start to finish: 1 1/4 hours

Cream takes the place of butter in these irresistible biscuits.

The combination of chocolate and coconut makes for a luscious treat.

The coffee foam attains its consistency with the help of a charged siphon. If you don't own one, don't worry—the coffee mixture can also be served, chilled but unfoamed, as a sauce. Active time: 45 min Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

This lovely dessert must be chilled at least two hours (or up to one day) before serving.

These cookies are a tradition during Lent (Quaresima) in Florence, Italy. They are easy, low in fat, and fun to make with children. If you are not a strict observer of Lent, you might use the egg yolks left over from this recipe to make schiacciata alla fiorentina, a festive flat bread popular with Florentines in the earlier season of Carnevale.

Active time: 25 min Start to finish: 45 min

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 6 1/4 hr (includes cooling and chilling)

Strawberry sorbet dresses up this terrific, uncomplicated dessert.

Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 2 3/4 hr (includes making pastry shell)

When ripe, fresh apricots have a velvety-soft deep golden skin with a faint blush and the most delicate flavor. When picked before maturity, the flavor is less than exciting but baking surprisingly intensifies the flavor even of the pallid ones, bringing them more toward the piquancy of dried apricots. Since baked aprictos are so vivid, I always bake them entirely open-faced in a pie. Glazing them with strained apricot preserves adds extra flavor and makes them glisten.